Running Doc: What to know about inline skating

By DR. LEWIS MAHARAM

Dec 10, 2018 | 10:00 AM

Dear Running Doc:

Marathon training this past fall just dealt me one injury after another—I probably spent more time off my feet than on. Maybe it's finally time I switched sports. But if I head right to the inline skate store, which is what I'm tempted to do, I hear I'll find I haven't seen anything yet in the injuries department. What's your view? Al L., Mamaroneck, NY

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Al, this sport has a lot going for it — espe­cially for adult athletes looking to pick up a little body-tightening training or cross-training. Aero­bically, a 12-mile skate is the equivalent of about a 6-mile run without the strain on your knees, indeed without any kind of pounding at all. And it doesn't hurt the way your Lycra fits either, since it tightens the hamstrings, develops the quadriceps, improves the muscles around the hip joint, and tightens the butt.

But should we share the sanguine atti­tude of the International In-Line Skating Association's executive director, who was once quoted as saying that for those of us “in mid-life and older, blading is less likely to cause such overuse injuries as stress fractures and tendinitis.”

Partly. But blading is still a weight-bearing exercise and if you take it to the same extreme as, say, hard marathon training, you're going to have some of the same problems, like “runner's knee” and painful iliotibial band syn­drome on the outside of the leg.

Tips from the running doc. (Dita Alangkara / AP)

With bladers now regularly rolling into my waiting room, I'm more concerned with athletes who don't know how to stop than those who don't know when to stop. That's for solid reasons, of course, like the automobiles, telephone poles, and other immovable objects you can meet while out of control. But it's also for a less obvious reason: your coccyx. From the number of patients I've sent home to sit on inflatable dough­nuts, it's obvious to me that most people find lean­ing back an awkward and unnatural way for the body to apply a skate brake. But lean you must—often, when you lose your balance, all the way onto your tailbone. Ouch! In the patients I see, it's second only to wrist injuries.

Ever hear of a hip pointer? There's a fair chance you will once you start roll­ing. A hip pointer is what happens when the bony part of your hip hits the ground. People on roller skates used to get them all the time. Now people on in-line skates get them, though nobody seems to talk much about it. If your vanity is so potent it won't even let you put on a helmet to keep your brain sound, read no further because I also recommend hip pads, usually not even considered skating equipment. They're available where foot­ball gear is sold, and they're foolproof armor for your hip bone.

But if you have no other safety equip­ment to your name, don't go out the front door without at least a helmet and rigid wrist guards. I agree with whoever said that the helmet—which can be the same one you use for cycling—protects your most valuable asset, while the wrist guards protect your most vulnerable. It's instinct to break your fall with your hand. It's com­mon to break your wrist instead.

If wearing all this stuff is hard on your ego, it needn't be hard on your wallet. I've seen accessory safety packages of wrist guards, elbow pads, and knee pads for about $50.00. Even when you add a hel­met and protective leather cycling gloves, you're in for less than a visit to the doctor. But you'll still have to learn how to stop.

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Enjoy the ride.

Lewis G. Maharam, MD, FACSM is one of the world’s most extensively credentialed and well-known sports health experts. Better known as Running Doc™, Maharam is author of Running Doc’s Guide to Healthy Running and past medical director of the NYC Marathon and Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series. He is also past president of the New York Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. Learn more atrunningdoc.com.